Huskies know what to expect vs. Texas Tech

Washington head coach Lorenzo Romar remembers the Huskies’ 99-92 loss at Texas Tech last year. He just doesn’t remember the overtime period.

“I remember us missing the free throws and them rushing the floor,” Romar said Friday.

“I remember the game itself, but the overtime is more of a blur.”

The game, including the overtime, is remembered by most as one of the most bizarre games of the 2009-10 season.

The Red Raiders’ Mike Singletary appeared to win the game in regulation with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer after Elston Turner missed two free throws with 4.8 seconds remaining and the score tied at 80.

The Texas Tech fans rushed the court, but an official review waved the 3-pointer off.

The Red Raiders ran away in overtime, sparked by a steal and layup by John Roberson with 44 seconds left.

It was the Huskies’ first loss of the year, and it took the team another five weeks before it found its rhythm. Despite two losses at the Maui Invitational, No. 23 Washington (4-2) won’t be as easily rattled this year.

And they’ll know what to expect when they tip off Saturday (1 p.m.; FSN).

“They’re very similar,” Romar said. “They run a very similar system. They have the same coach.”

Texas Tech (5-3) is again led by Roberson, who scored 25 points in last year’s game. The senior is averaging 13.5 points per game, but the entire starting five for the Red Raiders is scoring in double figures. It is a balanced team that takes advantage of other teams’ mistakes.

“Definitely we have to be very alert,” Romar said. “They’re the kind of offensive team, if you make a mistake, they beat you.”

Romar said Texas Tech beat the Huskies last year with transition baskets and 3-pointers by trailers. This year, transition and 3-pointers are the Huskies’ calling cards.

Redshirt freshman C.J. Wilcox scored a career-high 20 points and hit six 3-pointers in a 102-75 rout of Long Beach State on Tuesday. Romar said Wilcox’s open looks may dwindle as the scouting reports start to zero in on him, but that might not be a bad thing.

“Hopefully it’s a situation where you have to pick your poison,” Romar said. “Because we have other weapons now. … I don’t know if you can just totally concentrate on C.J. Wilcox.”

One of those other weapons is well known to opponents – Isaiah Thomas. Thomas has been frustrated by poor 3-point shooting and a perceived lack of calls from officials.

Thomas is averaging 14.8 points per game, but he’s shooting 35 percent from long range and just 56 percent from the line. His slashing drives aren’t getting him to the line, and when they do, he’s struggling to convert.

Romar isn’t worried about his junior guard.

“You have to be able to have a midrange game,” Romar said. “He has it, and he’ll go to it sometimes.”

Saturday’s game is part of the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series, and Romar is hoping the rest of the country gets a chance to see the Pac-10 in action.

“I just hope what happened last year doesn’t happen this year in terms of national perception,” Romar said, explaining that early struggles by the conference prompted many observers to dismiss the season as a down one for the Pac-10.

A win over Texas Tech wouldn’t send shockwaves across the college basketball landscape, but a loss would certainly cast a shadow on the entire conference.

TIP-INS: Romar said senior forward Matthew Bryan-Amaning again will come off the bench Saturday despite his 14-point, five-rebound performance against Long Beach State. … Junior guard Scott Suggs is “questionable” with a knee injury. … Senior guard Venoy Overton still is not fully recovered from a nagging tailbone injury, but he will play Saturday. “He’s still not moving the way I know he’s capable of moving,” Romar said. … Romar said he thinks the series with Gonzaga will resume, but he’s not sure when. “I’ve always maintained that I think it will sometime in the future. I don’t know when, but nobody has heard me say that will never happen,” he said.